He allegedly knifed Joudia Zimmat in the face so badly she was unrecognisable.

Joudia, 34, had only recently come to Nimes from a council estate to make a new life with her children and boyfriend.

It is understood she moved into a property on the same road as her alleged killer’s parents, British expats believed to be in their 60s.

The suspect is originally from Chatham, Kent.

He was last night being quizzed on suspicion of murder. He is said to have struck last Thursday while Joudia was out enjoying her run.

Police had issued an e-fit of the attacker and launched a manhunt in the area that is popular with Brit expats and holidaymakers.

Joudia’s body was later found semi-naked in scrubland close to a cemetery.

Officers said she had been molested, stabbed and beaten.

A Stanley knife and two stones splattered in blood were discov-ered close to her corpse. A police source said: “She had been cut and beaten with rocks. Her throat had been slit and her face was unrecognisable.”

Plant was arrested before being taken to his parents’ luxury villa while it was searched.

The plush property has its own swimming pool.

He stood handcuffed and was dressed in a khaki jacket as he hid his face from photographers.

Locals described him as “a well-educated, very pleasant loner” who spent time walking the family dog after losing his job at a mobile home factory.

One said he went to “drink pints of beer” at an Italian restaurant-bar called La Tosca on the evening after the killing.

A waitress, who gave her name as Khadra, said: “He comes several times a week.